Mellon Pathways Program
VCU’s College of Humanities and Sciences is pleased to offer the Mellon Pathways to the Arts and Humanities Program.
This program supports and guides students during their studies at Brightpoint or Reynolds Community Colleges, and as they transfer through dual admission to VCU. This program provides students with a solid foundation from which they can successfully study the arts and humanities at VCU. Once at VCU, the program’s transfer coaches and coordinators help keep students on track and on the path to success.
Additionally, the Mellon Pathways Program provides an immediate community for students at VCU and VCCS with regular social events, opportunities to work with mentors and plenty of other co-curricular activities. The Mellon Pathways Program provides students with a welcoming space in a larger university.
To learn more about the Mellon Pathways Program, please contact Janelle Marshall, director, or Peter Henry, assistant director.
Program Contacts
Janelle Marshall
Director
jmarshall@vccs.edu
Peter Henry
Assistant director
prhenry@vcu.edu
Faculty Mentors
VCU faculty members serve as mentors to Mellon Pathways Program students. If you are interested in serving as a faculty mentor, please contact Janelle Marshall, director, or Peter Henry, assistant director, of the Mellon Pathways Program.
Caddie Alford, an assistant professor in the Department of English, currently serves as a Mellon Pathways Program faculty mentor. Learn more about her involvement in the program and why mentoring is so important.
Why did you decide to get involved with the Mellon Pathways Program?
I'm passionate about mentoring generally, but I am especially invested in mentoring as a way of addressing inequities or gaps of access or information. I was a first generation, homeless college student myself, so I am intimately aware of how much mentoring can impact someone's trajectory. On top of this being a passion project, faculty mentors for the Mellon Pathways Program are compensated for their time with research funds, which most of us desperately need.
What types of things do you do for the students and/or program?
As a VCU faculty mentor for the program, we are kind of the student's hype person: as we are in dialogue with the student about their research project and how that process is going, we are also cheering them on, validating their interests, getting them excited about their transition to a big R1 environment, and generally building infrastructure for them by way of unpacking some of the implicit expectations that go along with finishing out an undergraduate degree while pursuing professionalizing opportunities.
Why do you like working with Mellon Pathways students?
By the time VCU faculty mentors enter the picture, Mellon Pathways students are already halfway through their research projects, which means that they have already spent a good amount of time and labor examining their topic – getting to witness someone following their own interests and authorizing themselves along the way is inspiring, fun and a reminder of how research and inquiry is best when it is grounded in some kind of curiosity.
Why is the Mellon Pathways Program important for VCU?
Everyone benefits from these students' transition into VCU: With every cohort, we get people who are accountable for their learning, hungry for more and whose experiences will only add to the plurality that makes VCU so special and alive.
Student Success Stories
Mellon Pathways Program supports and guides Brightpoint, Reynolds students
From intensive advising to on-campus meals, the partnership creates a welcoming pipeline from the community colleges to VCU’s opportunities for research, internships and more.
Christine Singleton - B.A., English, ’23
Christine fell in love with literature early on, but after her father’s passing, she left school. When she was ready to continue, the Mellon program helped guide her to VCU's Department of English.
Micah White - B.S., Psychology, ’23
Micah aims to become a clinical psychologist, equipping individuals and communities with tools for self-improvement. He credits the Mellon Pathways Program with helping him succeed.
Carlton Nivens - B.A., Philosophy, ’23
Carlton took part in Mellon Pathways Program at Reynolds Community College, where he became a peer mentor to others who were interesting in transferring.
Upcoming Events
Dinner's on Us
Dinner's on Us is a monthly get-together of post-transfer Pathways students at VCU. It combines food, fellowship and Pathways-specific opportunities at VCU. These dinners are open to Pathways students, and VCU faculty and staff.
Event details
- Coming soon
Email Peter Henry at prhenry@vcu.edu for more details.
Graduation Celebration
We celebrate the students graduating from VCU, as well as our partner institutions, Brightpoint and J. Sargeant Reynolds.
Event details
- Coming soon
Email Peter Henry at prhenry@vcu.edu for more details.
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